Crossroads

The sky was turbulent with dark clouds, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

On this stormy and rainy night, a few people walked on the rugged mountain road and finally arrived at a wooden cabin with great difficulty.

"Our village received a notice to evacuate due to heavy rain some time ago. There's no one living downstream anymore. The river has surged up, and it's dangerous to go back on the mountain road. You should stay here for the night."

Thanks to Ryan Bennett's assistance, they followed him to a simple yet spacious wooden cabin.

"Is it safe here?" Vincent asked, feeling somewhat uneasy as he looked at the howling wind and rain outside.

"This mountain is filled with walnut trees which are very sturdy. Our wooden cabin is very solid," Ryan reassured them.

Hearing this, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. In such terrible weather today, one small misstep could lead to being engulfed by mudflows.

"Let's start more fires and dry our clothes." Ryan went to the kitchen and brought back a bundle of firewood.

Vincent and the others didn't hesitate, immediately starting to arrange the firewood piles and taking off their soggy clothes. Seeing. these men collectively undressing, Stephanie immediately felt embarrassed and turned away awkwardly.

"Don't take off your pants!" Dominick, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

His words made Vincent remember that Stephanie was here and felt somewhat embarrassed.

They took off their jackets and shirts, revealing their chests, but kept their trousers on. They sat close to the fire, letting the heat dry their pants. They felt extremely uncomfortable with mud all over their bodies.

"No cellphone signal here. We can't contact anyone else."

As they busied themselves to start a fire, they discussed, "Kevin and the others should find shelter from the rain..."

Stephanie looked shocked upon hearing Kevin's name.

Dominick's gaze had been fixed on her all along and the surprise on her face seemed to carry another meaning in it. He tightly pressed his lips, the look in his eyes complicated.

"Call me Kelly. I have some clean clothes. Come with me and get changed," a simply-dressed woman, Kelly Turner, came out of a small room. She was Ryan's wife, and she smiled kindly at Stephanie.

Stephanie nodded at her. "Thank you."

Stephanie, who was five feet six inches tall and slightly taller, wore Kelly's dark blue cotton clothes. The sleeves and pant legs were much shorter, but she didn't mind at the moment. She thanked Kelly and walked out.

However, as Kelly followed her out, she noticed the scars on Stephanie's wrists and ankles and shock registered on her face. "How

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did you get so injured? Oh my, they're infected with pus from being soaked in water."

As Kelly spoke, Dominick almost instinctively took a step forward.

Stephanie happened to look up at him, instinctively stepping back as if afraid of him.

When Dominick noticed her reaction, the look in his eyes turned complex for a moment. He turned his head away to stare in another direction as if he hadn't been looking at her before.

"We have some iodine tincture at home. Let me get it for you so you can apply it... Kelly ran back to the room to fetch the iodine tincture and applied it on Stephanie's wounds when she came out, After applying the iodine tincture, Stephanie's hands and feet were stained with a purplish-blue color, and the iodine tincture stung a bit. She frowned slightly, enduring the slight pain without much expression on her face.

In the wooden cabin hung a small round clock. It was around 7 o'clock in the evening, yet thunder rumbled and rain poured down outside, enveloping everything in darkness.

This rainy night was truly hard to endure.

The cabin was sparsely furnished, with only a few wooden chairs and a round dining table in the main hall. Shortly after, Kelly brought out a pot of oatmeal and warmly served it to them.

"We're not hungry. Please go ahead and eat it instead."

Vincent knew this family hadn't prepared dinner for them. He felt uneasy eating their food while taking shelter in their home.

After thinking for a moment, he looked at Stephanie. "Stephanie, why don't you eat some? You're e pregnant."

Vincent's words drew everyone's attention to her. Kelly was already spooning a bowl for her, and Stephanie, feeling somewhat embarrassed under everyone's gaze, looked at the oatmeal with a troubled expression.

She didn't like eating oatmeal...

"Pregnant?"

Kelly exclaimed excitedly, looking at Stephanie with concern. "Oh dear, with your weak condition, how will you manage childbirth? You need to nourish yourself."

With that, Kelly hurried back into the kitchen, murmuring to herself, “I have two eggs left. I'll cook them for you..."

Feeling overwhelmed by Kelly's enthusiasm, Stephanie was at a loss. She also didn't like eggs and wouldn't eat them at all.

Stephanie really hated her picky eating habits, which she had developed during her time at Reed Villa as a child. She subsequently tried to change her habits, later but couldn't.

Feeling awkward, Stephanie ran into the kitchen. "Kelly, I'll have the oatmeal or maybe some bread. You don't have to bother with those..."

As Stephanie entered the kitchen, Dominick instructed a few people to get a flashlight and some tools from Ryan, then opened the

door and walked out.

"Although the rain is heavy, it might ease up by tomorrow morning. There's no need to go out now..."Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"What's going on?" Kelly and Stephanie came out and found that a few people had gone outside.

Ryan sighed, "They said they're going to get some food."

"Where can they get food in such heavy rain? Why didn't you try to stop them?

It's dangerous outside. What if..." Kelly exclaimed, putting the blame on Ryan.

Ryan looked helpless. "I couldn't persuade them." He felt a bit intimidated by Dominick's demeanor.

Stephanie looked grimly towards the door, the expression on her face turning complex.

"No one can stop him when he sets his mind on something. Don't worry about them," she said while persuading Kelly not to blame Ryan.

Looking at Stephanie's complicated expression, Kelly felt worried and asked curiously, "Miss, you're probably all from the city. I heard they came to find you. How did you end up in our small village?"

Stephanie was puzzled. "Did they really come to find me?' She wondered. Stephanie stiffened for a moment and whispered, "No way." How could Dominick come looking for her?

The cabin had no electricity, and a simple oil lamp hung high in the center of the dimly lit main hall. In the flickering light, their shadows swayed as they silently ate their oatmeal, occasionally casting worried glances toward the door.

How could they run out so suddenly in such heavy rain?' Ryan thought.

"These ase young people are unfamiliar with the mountain roads. I'll go check on them."

Ryan couldn't stand it any longer, so he put on his coat and hat and got ready to go out.

Anxious, Kelly grabbed him and whispered, "There's such heavy rain and thunder outside, and you don't have a flashlight. If you slip and fall down the slope, how am I going to live on without you...."

H Stephanie looked at this loving couple and couldn't help but resent Dominick even more.

Stephanie felt that Dominick was causing trouble for others in the stormy weather and making her worry. He thought he was superior and expected everyone to accommodate him. She really disliked him.

"Don't worry. I'm very familiar with this area. Nothing's going to happen," Ryan reassured his wife, patting her shoulder before pushing the door to go out. But as soon as the door opened, Dominick and the others returned.

They were all soaked from head to toe, looking disheveled, but they were carrying a large net filled with about 25 pounds of fish.

"You guys went fishing in the river in this stormy weather?" Kelly breathed a sigh of relief at their safe return, quickly stepping forward to help.

"No need. We can handle it ourselves." Dominick glanced at Kelly as he spoke in a deep voice.

Kelly met Dominick's cold gaze, feeling momentarily stunned by his handsome and refined appearance, suddenly understanding why her husband felt somewhat intimidated by him.

The men bustled about in the kitchen, and though Kelly was worried, she had no choice but to let them do it.

Seeing Kelly's helpless expression, Stephanie felt her anger rising.

She strode toward the kitchen, feeling outraged. They were acting as if they owned the place and were completely disrespectful.

"Dominick, you're amazing! I can't believe you how to slaughter fish." Vincent exclaimed excitedly in the kitchen, holding a large pot as his mouth watered. "This fried fish smells great. Let's make some more...

Stephanie froze outside the kitchen, utterly surprised.

She was shocked that Dominick could cook. A guy like him, born into wealth, knowing how to cook...

"Vincent, stop standing there. Come and help!" Dominick seemed to sense something and abruptly turned to look at the kitchen doorway, where Stephanie had already walked away.

He handed the spatula to Vincent with a cold look on his face. "Do it yourself." "I'm afraid of hot oil splashing. Dominick, I'm not as skilled as you... What are you doing?" Vincent rarely entered the kitchen, let alone fry fish with such skill

Ignoring him, Dominick watched as Vincent howled in pain after being splattered by hot oilXFinally, he emerged from the kitchen, triumphantly carrying a large pot of crispy fried fish.

"Please help yourself to this fish that I fried. Come and taste it, everyone!"

Vincent shamelessly invited everyone else over to eat.

Though Stephanie was displeased with Vincent and the others, the fish did smell delicious, and she found herself feeling hungry.

"Eat this."

When Dominick came out from the kitchen, he placed a bowl in front of her.

Vincent craned his neck to see what it was. “Trout with beans?" Kelly spoke up first, smiling at Stephanie.

"Your husband is so considerate and capable. This is good for you. Have some more to replenish your energy."

At Kelly's mention of "your husband, Stephanie's expression darkened.

"I'm not hungry," she said coldly, rejecting the offer without even looking at Dominick.

"I don't have the good fortune of eating what Dominick cooked!' She thought sarcastically.

As if anticipating her reluctance, Dominick took a step forward, still in his wet clothes, and said with suppressed anger.

"Just eat.

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Why was he telling her what to do? Stephanie was livid.

He acted like she was being unreasonable, but her misfortune was all his fault!

The atmosphere became tense for a m moment, and Vincent, noticing Stephanie's displeasure, tried to explain gently, "Stephanie," the people who took you away weren't sent by us..."

"Shut up!" Dominick interrupted sharply before Vincent could finish his words.

Before anyone else could say anything, they noticed Stephanie's eyes were red, likely from recalling her previous ordeal.

"Is there some misunderstanding here?" Kelly looked puzzled at Stephanie.

She shook her head, murmuring softly, "I'm not hungry."

She then walked into the small room, as if unwilling to see Dominick and the others.

"Dominick, if you don't clear things up with her, Stephanie will really resent you..." Vincent sighed heavily, feeling perplexed. Anyone would hold a grudge in her situation, but Vincent found it strange that Dominick knew she was picky with food. 'This woman is truly difficult to please!' He thought.